


Temporary

by Sinister_Kid



Series: Dragon In The Storm [3]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Human, Character Study, Cole (Dragon Age) is a Good Friend, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Dragon Age: Inquisition Spoilers, Dragon Language, Dragons, Elder Scrolls Lore, F/M, Helpful Cole (Dragon Age), POV Multiple, Post-Sovngarde (Elder Scrolls), Skyrim Spoilers, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:54:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23311936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinister_Kid/pseuds/Sinister_Kid
Summary: As the Inquisitor and her companions travel to Crestwood in search of Hawke's Warden contact, Alduin circumnavigates his confusing feelings for Brianna Trevelyan. Brianna has her own set of troubles to deal with, and meanwhile her elven companion, Solas, is bound and determined to find out Alduin's true identity. Will he succeed? And if anyone should learn his secrets, what will it mean for Alduin and the Inquisition? Would Bri put her trust in a dragon in human form? Or is Alduin's presence at Skyhold only temporary?
Relationships: Female Inquisitor/Alduin
Series: Dragon In The Storm [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/882879
Comments: 26
Kudos: 42





	1. Of Anger And Pride

**Author's Note:**

> Dragon language translations are from Thuum.org (Are subject to change) And will appear in chapter end notes as needed.

**Do Rahgot Ahrk Kah-Of Anger And Pride**

"Can't you use a stick?!" Bri whined between ragged breaths, making Alduin's sword arm go lax, and the tip of the sword fall to the ground as he shook his head in disbelief.  
  
"You're enemies are not going to fight you with sticks, thuri," he said to her, making her groan.  
  
They'd been at it all morning. Training, believe it or not. While they rested the horses, they themselves did not rest, but instead Alduin swung his magnificent sword at her, while she attempted to dodge his swings. He hadn't been lying when he said 'get out of the way'. His answer to her lack of heavy armor and a shield was to literally jump out of the way of his blade.   
  
While she could probably get away with blocking a smaller enemy's attack with crossed daggers, an attack from a broadsword wouldn't fair so well using that technique. She'd crumple under the weight of the blow. 

Solas was content to watch this spectacle from afar with mild interest, but Cole on the other hand flinched every time she barely missed a swing, and had to clap his hand over his mouth to keep from verbally expressing his concern that Alduin would make contact and slice her wide open. He cringed as he sat crosslegged on the ground.  
  
"I know that," Bri spat, in regards to Alduin's remark. "But..." She heaved a sigh. "Come on! I barely know anything about this type of fighting and your swinging a sword at me that's the size of me!" She stood up straight. "Don't you dare tell me the answer is to get bigger. I've been this height for ten years, and I'm not going to suddenly get taller." 

She huffed, folding her arms, pouting, and...well, he actually laughed. Then he backed up and flopped down against the tree behind him. Looking smug in her opinion.  
  
"You should rest," he said, breathing a little hard himself, though only slightly winded from swinging his sword for the last hour compared to most. Maker help her. She didn't know how he could do it. She actually held his sword earlier that morning, or...he set it in her hand, and she nearly fell over. The damned thing had to weigh as much as him. Agreeing with his suggestion, she flopped down on the ground next to Cole, who looked over at her.  
  
"He thinks you're doing really good," he whispered beside her. "You're small, and lighter, which means you can move faster. He likes that about you." Cole smiled a little wryly. "He likes the way you look when your fighting."  
  
"I won't dignify that with a response," she muttered, and Cole only looked at her quizzically. She sighed. Of course. Cole didn't understand how suggestive that sounded. "Being smaller and lighter doesn't mean anything. I could still slip up and get hit, and if I'm fighting someone twice my size, I'm afraid I'll be out of luck, should that happen."  
  
"Well, if you can't make yourself bigger, maybe you can make yourself smaller? So small they can't see you?"  
  
Bri chuckled. "It doesn't work like that Cole," she chided.  
  
"But you want to be invisible," he said, not only reading her mind, but reading her heart as well. 

She loved, but also hated that about him. This was one of those moments when she didn't like how open her mind was to someone like Cole, especially when Solas and Alduin were nearby, listening. She let out a breath, her chin dropping to her chest. Yes, she did wish she was invisible. Cole looked up at Alduin just then and shook his head.

"No, we don't have nirnroot here," he said, answering Alduin's unspoken question. "We're not on Nirn. But I'll try to find something."

"Thank you, Cole," Alduin nodded and Brianna tilted her head, curious.

What was nirnroot?

At this point in coversation, Solas became more interested, and walked over to the trio, leaning on his staff like a walking stave.  
  
"Though you may not have the power to be invisible at this time, your size _is_ an advantage, Inquisitor," he remarked. "Misdirection might be useful to you. As well as preying upon an enemy's blind spots. Might I suggest that when you dodge a frontal attack, instead of rolling to the side, roll forward, and hit from behind, and you'll increase your chances of striking before the opponent can react."  
  
" _Dur fahliil_ ," Alduin spat, producing curious looks from all three of them. He cleared his throat. "Uh-uhm...The elf kin is right, thuri. This would be useful to you," he said curtly. Was he _agreeing_ with Solas? Well, that was a first.   
  
"Might I also suggest, when you're feeling up to it, you and I practice the technique?" Solas asked her. "After all, corrupted mages are currently an enemy of ours, and it would be good to familiarize yourself with combating magic with your newly aquainted weapons."  
  
"Tools," Alduin corrected dryly. "Daggers are merely tools."  
  
"Pardon?" Solas asked him, wrinkling up his face, as if Alduin had insulted him.  
  
"You can peel a piece of fruit with a dagger, same as you can kill with it. It does not become a weapon until it is in the hands of someone who will use it as such," Alduin explained, looking for all the world like it was killing him to bring himself to converse with Solas.   
  
Bri found it comical, in truth. Trying to ascertain as to why, by Andraste, it was so damn difficult for Alduin to get along with him was the vexing part. But what he said made perfect sense. To use a weapon was a state of mind. And it was simply for Bri to be in the right state of mind.  
  
"That's very enlightened," Solas complimented. "And I compeltely agree. As a staff in the hands of any other than a mage would be no more useful than a walking stick. It is not the possession of a sword that makes you a warrior-"  
  
"But my spirit," Alduin finished for him.  
  
"Wait, does this mean you two might actually have a reason to get along?" Bri asked with a smile, as she glanced back and forth between the two of them, eyes alight with hope. They said nothing, simply locked gazes with one another for a moment, before Solas nodded politely and wandered away from them, Alduin glaring at him the whole way, before he relaxed once more against the tree.  
  
"No," Cole whispered next to her. "They still don't like eachother."  
  
"The both of them? Why the hell not?" Bri whispered back.  
  
"Because they're the same," Cole whispered back, producing a quizzical look from Bri.  
  
"The same?" she repeated.  
  
"Pride is an ugly demon with fangs and claws, leaving bitemarks on the tongue and heart. It eats everything from inside out. It eats itself the most," Cole whispered. "And when two Pride demons meet, one always fills the other with hate. They both want to rule the world, but there's only one throne in the castle. The wolf and the dragon are both ugly. For the wolf and the dragon are both filled with Pride."  
  
Interesting choice of words.  
  
"I've seen a Pride demon in the flesh. I know how dangerous they can be. Pride can be ugly to some. You don't think this rivalry will get worse, do you?" she asked, out of concern, understanding full well this was Cole's way of saying both men were very prideful.  
  
"I don't know," he shrugged. "The dragon wants to protect you from the wolf, and the wolf wants to do the same."  
  
"Neither of them trust the other with me?...Huh...I'll have to do something about that, I suppose...Well, I'm not without my pride either, Cole," she muttered, admitting to her fault. "But this is what it's about, isn't it? Opening up, admitting fault, and letting go of pride? You think I can get them to do the same?"  
  
"Maybe," Cole answered. "The man in black feels so much pain. It's all he's ever felt and he never even knew it. But when he looks at you, the pain goes away. What does that mean?"  
  
"It means he likes me, Cole," Bri responded with a blush. "He...he really feels that way when he looks at me?" Cole nodded. She sighed. "Now, if I could just get him to open up, and tell me what's hurt him so badly. He still won't tell me."  
  
"Maybe he can't," Cole answered, and once more, Bri sighed.  
  
"And you can't tell me either?" she asked. He shook his head.  
  
"I don't understand the words sometimes. Jumbled. Broken. Pieces of the pieces. His thoughts come out in dragon words, not human ones. Fiery, thrashing, claws and fangs, wings that beat with fury and might. I need to learn how to breathe fire, I suppose." He hung his head, lamenting the fact that he struggled to understand Alduin's native language.  
  
"Well, what about Solas?" she asked, and Cole stared at the patch of grass beneath where they sat huddled.  
  
"To keep the moon from being destroyed, the wolf put it high in the sky, far away, but it won't come down, and the wolf can't reach it. So he howls at it every night in his sleep, hoping that one day, if he howls loud enough, it will hear him and come back. Solas is the wolf, and the moon is what he desires most."  
  
"You know, I think I see why you and Alduin get along well enough," Bri remarked through pursed lips. "He likes to speak in metaphors, and now he's got you doing it too." She shrugged. "So what's Solas' moon then? What does he desire most?"  
  
"To put things how they're meant to be," Cole shrugged. "He wants the world to feel right, but it feels wrong."  
  
"So he's just like the rest of us, wanting to restore order. He wants peace." Bri speculated, though Cole made no comment on that. He changed the subject.  
  
"How do you get people to stop being angry?" he asked. "If the thing that makes them angry is already so far away it can't hurt them anymore, but they're still mad?"  
  
"That...is a good question," she smirked. "When I figure it out, I'll let you know," she assured him.  
  
"Good...Well, maybe you should tell him." He pointed to Alduin, who looked up just then, now realizing their private conversation was about him, seeing Cole point at him. "He's the one that's angry. But what made him angry is already dead. It's gone, and it can't hurt him anymore, but it still causes pain inside."  
  
"Oh boy," Bri sighed. "This one will be interesting to decipher," she chuckled, locking eyes with Alduin as she finished speaking, neither of them noticing Cole dissapear just then.  
  
"What manner of tinvaak did the two of you share?" he asked, curiously, as she moved to get up and sit beside him under the tree, leaning back against it, too interested in the way he looked just then to bother responding at first. He looked like an innocent child, for just a moment, all curiosity, no anger, hate or pride. His pale eyes staring at hers, searching them for something.   
  
He liked her. His pain was gone whenever he looked at her, and she couldn't help but feel the same. It was as if everything she worried about didn't matter, and wouldn't matter, as long as he was close at hand. She liked that feeling. It was new, and exciting. To be without fear.   
  
Was this what Cole tried to convey when he said Alduin was meant to teach her how to not be afraid? It wasn't about fighting, and it wasn't about her weakness in battle. But this. This moment in time, as he stared down at her. To give her strength where she had none. His company. His support. Could it be possible? That she could have faith in him? Put trust in him? Actually be with him, and possibly...just maybe...he felt the same?  
  
Such silly thoughts to have, yet she had them.  
  
"Anger and pride," she finally responded. "And how to combat them."  
  
He sighed. "When you find out, I should like for you to share this knowledge with me," he said. "For I've yet to completely master such a thing."   
  
"You'll be the first I share it with," she quipped.

* * *

The spirit had watched from the beginning, from the moment the girl with fiery hair stepped into his life, and the man in black stepped into hers. And would continue to do so that day. Watch and listen and learn. Sometimes he could ask questions, and sometimes he'd hear answers, but he learned far more by watching than anything. So Cole watched from afar as the Herald talked to the dragon.   
  
He liked the dragon. The dragon wasn't afraid of him. Just confused by him, for he didn't know what he was, and it was difficult for either of them to vocalize their concerns to one another. Their feelings were as different as their native languages. As different as their purposes. Cole was a spirit, as Solas had told them all; he was alive, living and breathing among them, but not human.   
  
And Alduin was from another world, and had never seen this one before turning into a man, in all his years he'd never been in a world like this one. And he'd never been a man either. But he was learning.   
  
Everyone had been afraid of the dragon, but Alduin didn't want them to be. Not any more. Neither did Cole.  
  
But it was so hard for him to talk, use the words, let them come out how they should, and the words didn't seem to match the thoughts. Cole had the same problem. He couldn't get the things to come out how they were inside. The outside didn't match the in. Perhaps if he watched, and listened, while the dragon learned, Cole would learn as well.  
  
Cole could sense the hurt changing to something else inside Alduin, though he didn't know what it was turning into, and neither did Cole. All he knew was that each time he looked at the Herald, his pain went away. Without anything happening on the outside. No words or anything. All because he looked at her. Not because her hair looked like fire, and dragons like fire, but because of something else. 

Bri said it was because he liked her. Was that what it was then? The 'eater of the world' had to like her, in order to heal his wounds?   
  
Was that what it meant to be human? To find someone in the world that made the pain go away? Or was there more? Some people stayed together even though they hurt one another, but could still be happy about it, still want eachother, still need eachother to not feel lonely. It didn't make sense to Cole that they should, but yet they did. So was it finding someone in the world that didn't make you feel lonely?   
  
But how could he tell the dragon about it? Or the Herald? Without telling Bri that Alduin was really a dragon, but was changed into a human, to learn what it meant to be human? To feel their pain, which he had, but to also understand it, and feel everything else a person could feel, in order to still his pride, and remove the arrogance he'd possessed as a dragon. To humble him.   
  
How many different ways could a living being feel, he wondered. All Cole ever sensed was pain, heard all the different sounds it made, but surely there was more to feel than pain. Surely he could learn, couldn't he?  
  
If he told anyone what Alduin was, they'd be afraid of him, and then he'd never figure it out, and neither would Cole. The Herald would turn him away, and he'd never be a dragon again. That was what Alduin wanted most. To be back in the body he was supposed to have. He missed flying, and his human body felt wrong, and confused him. But...if he never turned back into the dragon, he would never destroy the world, would he?   
  
Should he tell her what he was then? Would it be right? It wasn't his secret to tell. One should always tell their own secrets, and not those of others. He learned this from watching the wolf, and he rather liked the wolf too. His pain was easy to heal. Cole already knew there was nothing he could do to help Solas, not by telling his secret anyway. So secrets were things to keep, but Cole knew too many of the dragon's secrets.   
  
He didn't keep them from Cole like Solas did with some of his. With the dragon, everything washed over him at once, so much more than with others, as he was so much older, and filled with more things to cause pain.  
  
Anger and Pride caused so much pain for the wolf and the dragon, and both of them needed Bri to help them, but neither of them could tell her how. And the more Cole thought about it, the more it made him feel like them, made him feel different...made him feel something new. It worried him. If he felt different, he would be different, he would change, and if he changed...  
  
He had to help them. Somehow. That was what he was meant to do. To help, right? If he stopped helping, he would stop being him. He couldn't give up. He had to find a way. He just needed the right person to speak to, if he couldn't speak to Bri, perhaps he could tell someone else, and they could help. But who could he trust to help him help them? Someone who understood all the things that spirits and dragons didn't, about what it was like to be mortal?   
  
Varric? He liked Varric, very much, but Varric wasn't human, he was dwarven. But dwarves felt pain too, so maybe they felt all the other things that dragons didn't. They were people too, but suffered differently than humans and elves. For all kinds of reasons. In fact, all the different kinds of ways people outside the Fade could suffer had always frightened Cole.   
  
It was so much, so loud. And made him sad. But he certainly knew Varric could die, just like humans. He was mortal. He didn't want any of them to die. So he'd ask Varric then? Ask him how they were supposed to live? Or were they all meant to die?  
  
The dragon was right. This was confusing, wasn't it?  
  
And in the meantime, he could hear Solas' confusion growing, wondering who and what the dragon was. He looked like the dragon slayer though, maybe Cole could use that. Maybe...help Alduin by making Solas think he was the dragon slayer, and not the dragon? He was adverse to the idea of going inside Alduin's mind and changing things around, mostly because changing things would make things worse, rather than help Alduin.   
  
But maybe he didn't have to change anything. Just...change the way Solas was going to see it, if he decided to go inside. Maybe if Solas thought he was a dragon slayer, and not the eater of the world, he'd leave Alduin alone, and let him help Bri. And it would help Solas too, because he'd get what he wanted. It was possible, anyway.  
  
He disappeared that night when everyone laid down to sleep. He didn't like being invisible, didn't like being alone, but he needed to help. It's what he was made for, he was certain. So he became invisible, and walked into the dragon's mind, found his dream and listened to the pain. Listening to the parts that needed to unravel.  
  
The agony of an ageless dragon from Nirn was unlike any other, Cole learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Thuri: Master
> 
> Dur fahliil: "Curse the elf."
> 
> Tinvaak: speech


	2. Sovngarde

**Sovngarde**

It was hard at first to predict at what point in the night Alduin would fall asleep, and remain in a deep enough sleep for Solas to probe his subconscious undetected in the Fade. His sleep patterns were erratic, and he rather avoided sleep whenever possible. Solas had to be careful about it, admittedly, a concept the elf simply wasn't used to, if he were being honest about it.   
  
Humans were easy to subdue within the Fade. Their ignorance made them easy to manipulate. But he was quite certain at this point that Alduin was no normal man. He had power of some kind, though Solas had yet to determine the source of such magic. But it radiated from Alduin at certain times, with such intensity that it nearly blinded Solas when he attempted to connect to it.   
  
If it were indeed possible that Alduin were a mage of some kind, masquerading as a warrior, he would no doubt have some measure of spiritual awareness that Solas would have to consider before diving head first into Alduin's memories to sift through them.  
  
He also had to take great care where Cole and Brianna were concerned.   
  
Though Cole was rather innocent in nature and meant no ill will that Solas could see or feel, the spirit simply didn't want to divulge Alduin's secrets to Solas, though normally he would with anyone else. For whatever reason the spirit felt he was helping Alduin by this action, and should he learn that Solas invaded Alduin's dreams to learn his secrets, no doubt it would cause conflict. He had to take precaution, and safeguard his use of such magic from the compassionate spirit.  
  
As for Brianna, she was no mage, and aside from her possession of the Anchor, she had no magical connection to the Fade. Though her spirit could connect to the Fade, as with all living things, her conscious mind could not enter it, or feel the aura of magic that emanated from Alduin. She would be unaware, but should she later learn of Solas' action, he could not garantee that she would not ask questions. She was smart. And though she was fascinated by Solas' knowledge of the Fade, she was also wary of it.  
  
Her concern was not misplaced, as there were just as many dangerous things in the Fade as there was beauty, but her caution was born of ignorance obtained through Chantry upbringing and lack of magic. As well as though she saw Cole's unique abilities as helpful to the Inquisition, and Cole himself as harmless, she was fearful of something corrupting him against his purpose.   
  
She trusted him well enough after he forced the Envy demon from her mind, keeping it from possessing her, comparing Cole to a rather innocent and curious child, but she was not yet acclimated to the idea that someone else could invade her mind so easily like he did. It made her feel vulnerable. Especially when it put her faults on display to others. Solas had easily picked up on her wounded pride, at the behest of relying solely on others in combat.

The fact remained, however, that though Brianna trusted Cole, she didn't trust the Fade.  
  
But Brianna had such a hopeful spirit, and was filled with sympathy for the troubles of others. Like Cole, she possessed a base desire to help others, in whatever manner she could muster. She was the human embodiment of virtues such as hope, compassion, empathy. Those entities over powered her faults. It was commendable of her. If anyone could, Brianna could change this world, provided she were given the right tools to do so.   
  
For that reason, Solas liked her, and honestly didn't want to betray his human friend called Inquisitor. People like her gave him hope, where he never possessed it before.  
  
Alduin, on the other hand, was a mystery to him. Just as the dragon in the storm had been a mystery. Alduin had no familial ties to Brianna, no history with her, yet...he appears out of nowhere, saves her life, and has been sent to serve her for whatever unknown reasons? Solas could not be sure of how Alduin fit into the grander scheme of things.   
  
And with the clues he'd pieced together so far, that the firestorm brought an unknown dragon with it, and the firestorm at Haven ushered in Alduin's arrival, added to Brianna's recent speculations that Alduin was a dragon slayer...did it mean that somewhere, out there was a dragon that had followed him from his homeland, this...Nirn that he spoke of, that may or may not actually exist? Was the dragon an ally? Or an enemy?   
  
And if the latter, how powerful was this malevolent threat? Had Alduin strength enough to defeat it, provided he were actually a dragon slayer, and his purpose was to war with it? Would it be a deciding factor in what was to come?  
  
With the events that had already taken place, and what was likely to happen in the future, Solas felt it absolutely imperative that he solve this mystery. Everyone had their secrets, it was true. But that night, as he lay sleeping in the tent adjacent to Brianna's...Alduin was about to have a few less in number.

* * *

It paled in comparison to dwelling within his beautiful homeland in the flesh, but his spirit could cross the threshold and enter the Fade with grace and ease, all the same. Like stepping through a waterfall, or passing through a frosted curtain, his subconscious could breach the Veil and through it, enter the world of dreams he remembered, in places where the Veil was thin, like this one.   
  
His own memories he normally used to build the construct, like a spiritual architect, but with Alduin, he would build no construct in which to travel, but instead navigate Alduin's own dream to sniff out his secrets. He would start small, and tread carefully, simply watch, listen and learn, guise himself to remain undetected as he watched the dream unfold. But once he was inside it...he didn't know what to think of it.  
  
This land...it was different. It was _new_. The Fade did not blend into it like the dreams of others, but instead it felt as if it invaded it. As if the Fade were not natural of a thing to this world. Wherever he was, it was...another world entirely. Alduin was from another realm then? But how did he breach the cosmos and enter Thedas? How was he able to remain physically in Thedas, in all of body, mind, and spirit, able to withstand the corruption?   
  
Was this the power Solas sensed in him? The power to breach entire worlds?...This was...interesting.  
  
He steadily breathed in and out, rather by instinct, as he adjusted to the mixed emotions that washed over him. In all his years he'd never felt anything like this dream, never saw such a place like this one. He wanted to know what it was called. Foolish to get ahead of himself though. He had to be patient for the moment, until he learned exactly what part this world played in Alduin's memory.   
  
He turned about, where he stood, assessing his surroundings. It appeared that he was standing in a field, surrounded by mist, and though he physically could see next to nothing, he could sense a presence nearby. Alduin's presence.  
  
The wolf hesitantly stepped over brush, noticing how blue everything looked. The grass seemed...different. Foreign. The flowers, though they had no smell, were brightly colored, small dots of lavender, pink and blue. Flowers with no smell? Even in the most disconnected of dreams, the underlying memories of things gave flowers a smell. It was no flora like the kind found in Thedas, he assumed.   
  
Simple, yet beautiful, and seemingly very delicate in nature, turning to swirls of smoke at his touch, as if to emphasize a flower's ability to decay, far beyond natural boundry.   
  
The mist that fogged the valley, clouding it in grey, kept the flora from displaying its full potential in color, but he imagined that with clear skies, they were probably vibrant hues, lively colors. There were no trees, only the field, no buildings, no roads, but a beaten path that the wolf chose to follow, peering over the crest of the hill for any signs of life. There were none. Save for Alduin's up ahead, somewhere on the other side of the mist.   
  
This was strange to him. In the dreams of others he visited, he could sense the presence of life through their memory, but not with Alduin's dream. For whatever reason, Alduin did not perceive life as any other would.  
  
Music crept into Solas' ears. Music that filtered through all of his senses, rather than just hearing alone. It seemed to be coming from everywhere, not just one specific direction, which was interesting. It was chanting, singing, a plethra of voices, strong, masculine, and speaking a language he'd never heard. Much like Alduin's 'dragon tongue', it was no language spoken in Thedas, and no language lost within the Fade.   
  
Though it felt like it spoke of glory, and honor, warriors locked in great battle. Filled with valor and utmost pride. Dignity. Praising a hero perhaps.  
  
He crept silently still, the large black wolf sniffing the mist. Nothing had a smell, though it had a feeling to him. Something powerful and ancient. Perhaps older than him. Something that could have existed millennia before the creation of his own kind. A land of ancestral magic, said his intuition. He crept further into it. Feeling a heightened sense of apprehension in light of such subtle revelations.  
  
Thunder echoed in the distance, reaching the sensitive ears of the wolf with earsplitting intensity. It was then that the mist seemed to evaporate, and the field opened, as well as did Solas' eyes to this realm. The sky turned from milky white fog to...something breathtaking. It was as if these stars, this foreign blanket of light, shown brighter than the sun, glowing in the sky, and the very fabric of space and time altered, halted to a complete standstill.   
  
A feeling washed over him that if a mortal being were to stand in this field they would not age, would they? They would not die, and they would never weep, never suffer. What did that mean?  
  
He tore his gaze from the magnificent sky to see something else worthy of his attention. Ahead of him, across the valley, the path ended at a bridge made entirely of bone. The animals of which the bones were collected had to have been massive, perhaps those of dragons, though the shapes of which that jutted out were quite unique in nature, most likely unique to this realm.   
  
Across the massive bridge lie a great hall, the fortress itself suspended in the air. Floating, perhaps, or the mass of land on which it was built had been carved away from the earth, creating an unfathomable moat, leading anyone who attempted to cross any other way than the bridge to certain death.  
  
Between the wolf and the brilliant castle in the distance was the source of Solas' query.   
  
He dare not venture closer, lest he be detected by the dreamer, so he could not hear what was said, but he was just close enough to see people locked in battle with a great, black, menacing dragon. A wyvern, with two legs, two wings, and a long tail resembling a bullwhip, though as large as a high dragon. The eyes of which glowed ominously red. Malevolent in nature, and very similar to the dragon he'd seen in the firestorm, though it had been nothing but a flash, a blur in the distance, too far away to tell if it was the same creature.   
  
This dragon roared, and as it did, the wolf felt the entire world tremble, and saw the familiar swirl of light and dark, condensing at the center as molten rock began to fall. So it was the dragon that possessed this ability then? To make the stars fall?   
  
This hellfire that raged from the heavens was some sort of magical gift this dragon possessed, the source of which was its magnificent roar, and it intended to use it to destroy the slayer that persued him, along with three others, three that shouted something at the dragon, waves of ethereal glow emanating from their mouths, some sort of arcane spell that weakened the dragon, possessed it, and it roared in agony.   
  
The slayer himself was all too familiar to the wolf, though he looked different. He was not adorned in black, but instead the scales of his dragon armor were more weathered, and earthy. But it was him, as far as the wolf could tell. It was Alduin.  
  
In a flash of fury and might, he swung his greatsword with such ease, the grounded dragon dodging the blow, snapping at him with its magnificent teeth. Solas crept closer still, far too curious now to turn back.  
  
"Dovahkiin, hin kah fen kos bonaar!" spoke the dragon, its voice echoing through the valley like thunder, deep and sinister in delivery, the words spoken to the dragon slayer, that snarled, unafraid, undiminished in his will to fight.  
  
So this dragon could speak? So it was true that Alduin had learned a language of dragon tongue, in this world that he originated from? Solas watched as he slashed yet again, this time connecting to the dragon's snout, making it coil at the blow, then rear back to breathe fire. The flames, hot and heavy, as if they were pulled from deep within the core of the earth and let loose through the dragon's lungs and out it's mouth.  
  
Alduin in turn, dodging the blast, letting out a battlecry when he stood once more, running and lunging at the dragon, swinging up and onto it's back, attempting to stab the back of it's large horned head. The dragon bucked and writhed, knocking the warrior off balance, but when it reared back once more, intending to breathe fire, Alduin was close enough for a more personal strike, ramming his sword deep into the belly of the beast.  
  
It was then that Solas was ripped violently from the dream, waking in a sweat, excited, yet mortified, by what he'd experienced. It was so strong, and violent, and breathtaking, so gritty of an experience. A dream of which he'd not found an equal to, not in many years had he experienced something so captivating as to render him speechless as that place in Alduin's memory.   
  
This was no fantasy, this was no imagining. This dream was a memory, one of his last before entering Thedas, though Solas wasn't sure why, or what caused him to be there, and there were so many more unsanswered questions.   
  
But he fell back against his sleeping mat rather breathless, heart pounding in his chest. Alduin was an interesting man. A man of which Solas found himself wanting so much to be invested in the future of.

Particularly, he was curious to know whether or not, as Alduin could come to Solas' world, if, in turn, Solas could somehow physically travel to his. And experience first hand, in the flesh, the power, the magic...the immortality without need of sleep or sustenance, worry or pain, labor or strife...  
  
This place. He wanted this place, coveted it with an insatiable desire. This place. Its power could revive his own world, and make it not only what it once was, but better. Stronger. This place...  
  
_Sovngarde_.

* * *

Bri was restless in her tent, tossing and turning, but she wasn't the only restless person in camp, and upon realizing this, she shot up to a sitting position, listening to the sounds she heard. Solas' tent was silent, as he slept soundly, and no noise came from where Cole retired either. But across from her, from within Alduin's tent, she could hear sounds of unrest, thrashing in his sleep.   
  
Quickly she arose, exiting her dwelling to stand outside his. He was breathing heavily, and from the sound of things, having a nightmare. No wonder he didn't want to sleep.   
  
This was what he meant about having bad dreams? Violent nightmares? _Maker_. She wondered if perhaps she should wake him, before he set something on fire in his sleep. Quietly she parted the flap, stepping over his boots to kneel beside him as he thrashed, heart pounding in her chest, concerned for him. Should she get Cole? See if he could enter Alduin's mind like he did hers, and figure out whatever was threatening him?   
  
No, perhaps not. Alduin liked Cole, but was confused enough as it was by the spirit. She needn't add to that.  
  
"Alduin," she whispered ever so gently, not wanting to so violently yank him from his dream. She put a hand on his trembling arm. She could feel how fiery his skin was, even under the armor he wore. He thrashed once again. Quickly she moved his sword and helmet out of the way so that she could scoot closer, wondering exactly how she should comfort him.   
  
When her mother put her to bed as a child back in Ostwick, she'd stroke her hair to comfort her. It was soothing, always a good way to relax her, coax her into sleep when she didn't want to fall asleep.   
  
Slowly she reached up to brush a long strand of ebony from his face, feeling him flinch in the dark at the touch as he did once when he was awake and she touched him. But she didn't withdraw, didn't give up just yet, once more stroking the hair away from his face. A few more times she did this, admittedly, feeling a little excited. She'd never actually touched him like this before, or...touched _anyone_ like this until now.   
  
It was new, and strange, the way it made her feel like she was on fire just then. She gently stroked his cheek with her finger tips, until she felt his tremors subside, but froze when she felt his arm move, and his hand enclose around hers, pulling it away from his face. She swallowed nervously when she saw him raise his head.  
  
" _Hin slen los krah_ ," he said quietly. "Your hand is cold. What are you doing, thuri?"  
  
"You were having a nightmare," she whispered. "What were you dreaming about?"  
  
It was dark inside the tent, but she could swear she saw his nostrils flare just then, and then his jaw clench in irratation. Slowly he sat up, but when he did so, he drew his knees up to him and propped his arms on them. A comfortable position, but it made Bri feel like this was the physical reflection of Alduin withdrawing inwards, closing himself off from her and everything else. He rubbed his eyes for a moment, and then sighed.  
  
"The other day I told you of dragons once ruling over Nirn, did I not?" he asked.  
  
"Yes. You did," she noted, wondering what this had to do with it, wringing her hands, waiting for an answer as he silently searched for the right words. When he found them, he spoke slowly, and softly, and reeled her into his terrific storytelling. She wished in that moment she could understand the stories told in Dragon Tongue. His voice was so compelling.  
  
"The Firstborn of dragonkind in Nirn was the most powerful, and was created to destroy Nirn, ushering in a new era, when the current was destined to end. They called him the World-Eater. His purpose was destruction. But his arrogance preceeded him, and he rebelled against his purpose, seeking to rule over Nirn and its people, instead of merely destroying it.   
  
He lusted for the power of mortal souls in service to him, aiming to keep the world for his own, against the will of the Gods that created him. So with his brethren he claimed Nirn, and enslaved it to his own will. Rather in likeness to these...Tevinter you spoke of, that worshipped dragons, in era past. You said they were buried deep in the ground, far away from mankind."   
  
She nodded, recalling her explanation of what an Archdemon was.   
  
"But on Nirn, dragons were not merely at slumber beneath dirt," he said. "Mortals rebelled against them. Waged war on them, and then killed them." He leaned back against his sleeping mat, staring up at the ceiling of the tent, regailing his tale. "But their strongest could ressurect them.   
  
Though their bodies could be slain, and their bones buried deep, their souls lingered, and the First dragon had the power to restore their bodies, reunite them with spirit. They could never truly die. Mankind lost its battle against dragons for a time, for the First dragon could not be slain. He was more than a winged serpant with fire and talon, beyond immortality in spirit, but immortal in _every_ sense of the word.   
  
He was a _God_ among dragonkind.   
  
But Kaan, the Mistress of Air, feeling pity for man, gave mortals the ability to use the Thu'um, to speak with fire as though they were dragons themselves. One among the dragons, along with Kaan, taught them how to use this power, betraying his brothers to aid mankind, pitying them as well. But it was not enough. As long as the Firstborn could resurrect his kin, they were hopeless.   
  
So those that created him made beings that were strong enough to defeat him in battle, but that would not turn against mortalkind and abuse their power. They called these beings...Dovahkiin. Dragonborn. A warrior with the body of a mortal...but with likeness in spirit to a dragon, able to absorb the souls of dragons so that the First could not ressurect them. It was the destiny of the Last Dragonborn to challenge the Firstborn of their kin."  
  
"And this is what you dream about? This...'Dragon War'?" she asked, and he nodded.  
  
"I see it every time I close my eyes," he said to her, quite solemnly.   
  
This explained a lot about him. It wasn't just betraying dragons that haunted him, but nightmares of war that plagued him. This was what Cole meant about something angering him that was already dead. The war was over, yet he still suffered battle fatigue. And if this were true, that he was spiritually connected to the winged serpants, it was easy to see why he felt like he betrayed them in the first place.   
  
As well as perhaps he felt in some way as if he didn't belong with humans, because though he aided them in battle against their winged oppressors, he was different. An outcast, to both sides, as much as he was connected to them. She wondered just who this Mistress was that taught mankind this power. Could it be some aspect of Andraste? Or was this an elven god?  
  
"A man with the power of dragons?" Bri asked him, and he nodded. "Created to battle a power hungry beast, for the right to mankind's freedom?"   
  
Though he wasn't saying so directly, as he never said anything about himself personally, but more or less from third person perspective, Bri was taking it that this was Alduin's way of explaining his power to her. His struggle. The reason why he was able to breathe fire like a dragon. Not merely 'raised by dragons', but akin to them, created to defeat them. And a destiny that had rested on his shoulders? She could understand how that felt.   
  
"Is it...you?" she asked him carefully. "Are you the last of these Dragonborn? I can tell for myself that you are different than other people, Alduin. But yet you...Maker, it's...it's like pulling teeth getting you to tell me anything about yourself," she lamented.  
  
"For just as much as things in your land do not make sense to me..."  
  
"You thought I wouldn't understand either," Bri finished with another sigh. "Well, I think I do understand. You're saddled with a heavy burden. It's alright. You don't need to keep it bottled up inside you, and bear it by yourself. I think...perhaps that's part of how we can help each other. Share each other's burdens with one another?"  
  
"You should not have to bear my pain, _thuri_ ," he said, shaking his head.  
  
"It's not about whether I have to or not," she argued, putting a hand on his shoulder. "It's the fact that I _want_ to. Not everything has to be about you serving me, Alduin. You're also my friend too, you know. At least, I hope so...So, was this powerful firstborn dragon defeated?" she asked. He shook his head.  
  
"Yes, and no. Defeated, but not killed. He fled to a place called Sovngarde. Then he was banished from the world."  
  
"Aha," was her response. He'd mentioned that word before. 'Sovngarde'. It was a place?  
  
In truth, she wasn't sure how much of all this she believed, or how much of it was merely a metaphor for something else, but the story was interesting, and imagining that Alduin was magically granted the power of dragons in order to slay them made more sense than anything else, she supposed. She was curious if it was anything like the strange dream she had of Alduin slaying the black dragon that so frequented her subconscious as of late.   
  
Wondered if it wasn't connected to Solas' vision of a winged serpant that appeared when the stars fell, along with Alduin. Whether truth or falsehood, it was still a beautiful story. And at least she was beginning to understand his struggle, perhaps even his personality as well.   
  
"You remind me of Kaan," he said. "To mankind, she was the summer wind, but also the winter storm. She could breathe life into the world, but also send a hurricane to take it away. And you have the power to save your people, or let them fall, just the same."  
  
"I never thought about it that way," she shrugged. "But...so are you. You said so yourself, though fire is destructive, where there's fire, there's light," she smiled, then watched as he huffed and actually smiled back, shaking his head in disbelief. But, he was _smiling_ at her, and even in the dimness of the tent, she could see something else in his eyes, something she couldn't place a finger on exactly, but she was most certain that it meant he desired her.   
  
The feeling was mutual.   
  
"I should...let you get some rest," she said as she moved to get up, but he grabbed her hand.  
  
"Do you trust me?" he asked, and she nodded, wondering what it was he meant to do. "Then follow me," he said, to her surprise as he hauled himself to his haunches to crawl out of the tent, still holding her hand. Her heart pounded in her ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> "Dovahkiin, hin kah fen kos bonaar!" --"Dragonborn, your pride will be humbled!"
> 
> "Hin slen los krah."--"Your flesh is cold."
> 
> Kaan--Kyne/Kynereth


End file.
